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More than half the brands of popular cod liver oil and omega 3 supplements do not contain the amount of active ingredients they claim on the label, according to the results of new tests.

Fish oil capsules are one of the UK's most popular nutritional supplements and have been shown by a number of studies to help maintain joint flexibility, keep the heart healthy and aid brain development.

But scientists from the new review website whatsinit.com tested 27 brands of the widely sold supplements - and found that more than half did not meet trading standards guidelines. The organisation, which claims to be the only independent website providing unbiased analysis of UK health supplements, says that one of the worst offenders was Tesco's High Strength Cod Liver Oil, which had just 79 per cent of active ingredient, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), claimed on the bottle.

Meanwhile, the report found Boots Brain and Heart Health Omega 3 supplements contained only 84 per cent DHA and 87per cent EPA stated on the label. Seven Seas Pure Cod Liver Oil had 87per cent of active ingredient it was said to contain.

At the other end of the scale, Numark's Omega 3, Healthspan's Concentrated Omega 3 and Asda's Omega 3 contained higher levels of the active ingredient than claimed.

Whatsinit.com say the test results were analysed by independent laboratories and reviewed by experts. Products were considered to have failed if they contained less than 95 per cent of the active ingredients they claimed to have.Source - Daily Mail